[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 150 (Monday, September 15, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E853-E854]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




WELCOMING HIS ALL-HOLINESS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW, ARCHBISHOP 
          OF CONSTANTINOPLE-NEW ROME AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 15, 2025

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great honor to welcome to 
our Nation's Capital His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, 
Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch. He is 
the Spiritual Head of the Orthodox Christian Church worldwide and 
shepherd to over 300 million faithful. For Orthodox Christians across 
the globe, including many of my own constituents in Northwest Ohio, His 
All-Holiness is not only their spiritual father but also a guiding 
light for interfaith understanding, religious freedom, and 
environmental stewardship.
  Part of his visit to the United States is to receive the 
distinguished Templeton Prize in New York City. This recognition, 
bestowed previously on figures such as Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, 
and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, acknowledges his lifetime of service in 
advancing the harmony of faith and reason, and his courageous 
leadership on behalf of peace and the protection of God's creation.
  His All-Holiness is no stranger to the halls of Congress. On his 
first visit to our Nation's Capital in 1997, he was awarded the 
Congressional Gold Medal in the Rotunda, where he delivered an address 
that remains a touchstone in the history of religious freedom and 
international dialogue. Through subsequent visits under both Democratic 
and Republican administrations, the Ecumenical Patriarch has been 
received with the highest honors by our Nation's leaders.
  For more than three decades as Ecumenical Patriarch, His All-Holiness 
has been a bridge-builder between peoples and nations. He has convened 
leaders of the Abrahamic faiths in pursuit of peace and reconciliation. 
He has boldly raised the conscience of the world to the urgent moral 
imperative of environmental responsibility. For these efforts, he is 
rightly known as the ``Green Patriarch.'' He has also been a steadfast 
advocate for human rights and religious liberty across the globe, 
strengthening the cause of freedom for all people.
  On behalf of the people of Northwest Ohio, and especially our vibrant 
Greek Orthodox community, I am proud to extend our heartfelt welcome to 
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as he returns to 
Washington. We rejoice in his recognition with the Templeton Prize, and 
we pray that his ministry of peace, love, and reconciliation will 
continue to inspire our Nation and our world.

[[Page E854]]

  

                          ____________________